Couscous: Fresh and Flavorful Contemporary Recipes

This book is for the adventurous cook who is boredwith pasta and rice and who is interested in ethnicand fusion cuisine. From cover to cover, it impressedme. The book is informative, mouthwatering andcreative and respects current eating trends.Recipes range from 1 to 3 hours of preparation time.There's a generous introduction on the history andrelevance of couscous and a listing of sources forspices and traditional couscous cookware. I chose this recipe because it contained interestingingredients which I had on hand, and I felt mostreaders would find it easy to prepare. I learned how acombination of spices can create a dish that isflavorful and delightfully fragrant. I woulddefinitely make it again, perhaps with more saffronnext time. GAME HENS WITH COUSCOUS STUFFINGServes 2-421/2 cups chicken broth4 tablespoons butter10 threads Spanish saffron1/2 cup couscous2 tablespoons olive oil1 teaspoon ground turmeric1 teaspoon sweet paprika2 12-ounce Cornish game hens1/2 cup (about 4 ounces) slivered blanched almonds,toasted1 cup (about 5 ounces) golden raisins1/2 cup (about 5 ounces) pitted prunes, coarselychopped2 tablespoons honey3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon1/2 teaspoon ground ginger1/2 teaspoon salt1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper1 medium onion, diced1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a mediumsaucepan, bring 3/4 cup of the broth, 2 tablespoons ofbutter, and half of the saffron to a boil. Add thecouscous in a stream. Stir once. Remove from the heat.Cover and let stand until couscous is tender, 12 to 15minutes. Set aside. 2. In a large bowl, mix the olive oil with theremaining saffron, the turmeric, and paprika. Usingyour hands, coat the hens inside and out with thismixture. Set aside. 3. In a medium bowl, combine 1 tablespoon of theslivered almonds with the raisins, prunes, 1tablespoon of the honey, 1/2 teaspoon of the cinnamon,1/4 teaspoon of the ginger, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt,1/4 teaspoon of the pepper, and the remaining butter.Set aside. 4. In a food processor, in increments, grind the driedfruit and spice mixture until it acquires a thick,gritty consistency. Transfer to a medium bowl andcombine with the couscous.5. With a large spoon, stuff equal portions of thecouscous mixture into each hen. Place them, breastside down, in a medium baking dish. They should nottouch. Surround them with diced onion and add theremaining broth. Cover and bake 50 to 55 minutes. Turnhens over and baste. Bake, breast side up, uncovered,until the hens are brown and the juices run clear whena thigh is pierced with a fork, 30 to 35 minutes.Transfer hens to a warm serving platter. Keep warm. 6. Drain the pan juices into a medium saucepan overmedium heat. Add the remaining honey, cinnamon,ginger, salt and pepper. Reduce by a quarter. Spoonover and around the hens. Sprinkle with remainingalmonds and serve. Per serving: 1347 calories, 65 g protein, 125 gcarbohydrates, 69 g fat, 173 mg cholesterol, 1559 mgsodium, 10 g fiber. Calories from fat: 45 percent

Tired of rice and potatoes, I've been keeing an eye out for recipes about couscous. Not too long ago, I caught Kitty on a television program. I think it was Sara Moulton's show on the Food channel. They prepared "Couscous-Parsley Salade with Preserved Lemons." The recipe called for 1 or 2 Tsp of pine nuts and Sara dumped about a cup in! Hey, but that's okay. I like crunch! So, I bought the cookbook and set about preparing the "Rock Cornish Game Hens with Dried Fruit and Couscous Stuffing." I substituted dried cherries for the prunes. The recipe was easy to follow and came out just fabulous. A welcomed twist from the usual game hens and wild rice. The next recipe I want to try is "Tongolese Couscous in Peanut Sauce." While there's no photo, it sounds delicious. Thank you Kitty!

My first attempt was "Couscous Fritters with Fresh Corn and Tomato Salsa". Delicious! Every recipe tried was well seasoned and was what I'd call an "eager to repeat winner", if you don't mind fighting past all the errors.In "Couscous Fritters", the instructions you're supposed to turn to page 20 for her technique on how to peel and seed tomatoes. There is nothing about tomatoes on page 20. It's really page 22. The recipe calls for 2/3 cup broth, but what kind? Step 1 puts all the ingredients for the salsa together while in step 2 you are asked to prepare the fritters. Among the ingredients you're supposed to mix together is the "remaining salt". What remaining salt? You used it all in step 1 for the salsa. I think she meant the cumin.Recipes are well thought up but somehow, either the test kitchen or the editors goofed. If you are someone who really needs recipes to be right, skip this book. You'll pull your hair out trying to figure out what's wrong. If you can work around the mistakes and really want to try couscous, you'll find some really tasty meals in here. My copy has lots of notes and cross-outs. I'm sure yours will too.

My husband and I traveled with Kitty on her last Moroccan culinary tour and we highly recommend it. We also highly recommend this book from which we have prepared several dishes including the delicious Rock Cornish game hens with dried fruit and couscous stuffing. Our dinner guests have loved the Moroccan foods that we have prepared - a departure from the usual party fare. We have found all of her recipes unique, flavorable, fun to prepare and delicious to eat! Also recommend her "Cooking at the Kasbah". Our guests have raved about the chicken b'stila which is quite unique, a "production" to prepare but can be made ahead of time, frozen and then baked right out of the freezer.

This is a wonderful book for people who want great meals fast. The recipes are for the most part quick( the couscous takes only five minutes to cook), easy to prepare , and they are big on flavor. The author begins the book with traditional recipes, but the bulk of the books focus are contemporary recipes for this versatile grain.